Stash is a modern and intuitive stock broker that offers long-term investors a simple interface. However, Stash has been unclear about their Stash Trading Windows for some time now and has not been able to communicate effectively with investors. So, when are Stash trading windows?

Stash Trading Windows: Stash Trading Windows: Stash has four trading windows per day: one between 09:30am – 10:00am ET, the second between 11:30am – 12:00pm ET, the third from 01:30pm – 02:00pm ET and the last one from 03:30pm – 04:00pm ET.

In this article, I’ll go over the exact trading windows for Stash to get an idea when your order will be executed. We’ll also talk about after-hours trading with Stash and the reason you cannot choose your own trade times.

What time are the trading windows for Stash?

The fact you are reading this article today shows that Stash has been unable to communicate effectively with investors with regard to their trading hours. For the most part, Stash has made vague statements about having four trading windows per day without giving any concrete times. 

As for instance in this statement on Twitter:

Fortunately, I was able to find some more concrete information that had been posted in the Stash app a few months back thanks to u/KickinAdnol on Reddit. So, here are Stash’s precise trading windows:

• 09:30am – 10:00am ET: In the first trading window all orders that have been placed after 4pm on the previous day, as well as all orders that have been placed on the current day before 9:30am ET will be executed.
• 11:30am – 12:00pm ET: The second trading window executes trades that have been placed after the closing of the first windows and before 11:30am ET, i.e. trades that have been paced between 10:00am and 11:30am ET.
• 01:30pm – 02:00pm ET: Before the last trading window opens at 03:30pm ET there is another opportunity to get your trades executed in the early afternoon between 01:30pm and 02:00pm ET.
• 03:30pm – 04:00pm ET: The fourth and final trading window of the day executes all remaining orders that had not been filled in the previous windows. All orders placed before 03:30pm ET should be executed in this window.

Although these times seem quite precise, keep in mind that Stash reserves the right to execute individual trade at times that are most convenient for them. This means that not all of your trades will necessarily be executed immediately in the next trading window.

Before going over the reasons why Stash has decided to go this route, let’s have a look at after-hours trading options!

Does Stash trade after hours?

Simply put, Stash does not offer after-hours trading. The last trade each day will be executed on or before 04:00pm ET just when the stock market closes. As you can see from the image below, Stash trading windows only operate in normal market hours from Monday to Friday, 09:00am to 04:00pm ET.

Trading after hours typically is associated with day-trading and excessive focus on price action. Stash has made it their mission to focus on long-term investing and will likely not institute any after-hours trade windows.

Why does Stash only have four trading windows?

The main reason why Stash only offers the four trading windows per day is that they aim to attract investors that are looking to “stash” their money for the long term. The time horizon varies and can last anywhere from 1 year up to 30 years.

In order to achieve the goal of serving these investors best Stash has come up with the following reasons:

• Cost Reduction: By executing thousands of trades at once in the given trade windows Stash is able to place orders on stock exchanges in bulk and receive huge discounts on commissions. This allows Stash to offer investors basically free stock and funds trades.
• Prevent Day Trading: In order to curb day trading and technical analysis and encourage long-term investing and thinking Stash has decided to focus on a user base that tends to value the long term. Short-term price movements will make very little difference over a timespan of 30 years.
• Four Trading Windows: While four trading windows might not seem like a lot it is actually more than what other long-term brokers offer. M1 Finance, for instance, offers only 2 trading windows per day to its premium users.

Although M1 Finance is better for various other reasons, the fact remains that four trading windows are more than enough for long-term investing with Stash. Having limited times to trade during the day strangely makes me like Stash even more!

Compare this to the gambling nature of Robinhood trades and you will soon see why Stash and M1 Finance have been my go to investment apps these days.

Verdict: When Are Stash Trading Windows?

Stash operates four trading windows throughout the day: in the morning, just before noon, in the early afternoon, and just before the stock market closes at 4pm ET. Stash does not offer any after-hours trading.

The reasons Stash offers these trading windows instead of executing trades immediately mainly have to do with cutting costs for investors. Bulk executions of orders allows Stash to offer very low-cost investing to its clients.

I wrote a great article on does Zelle use stash you can check out.